_Training_Day_ could not be more aptly titled, and not simply because
those two words offer the most accurate and succinct summation possible of the
film's story and structure. The title also gives a clear idea of how star
Denzel Washington schools the viewer in how electrifying screen acting can be.

Director Antoine Fuqua wisely trades in the glossy flash of his previous
two films, _The_Replacement_Killers_ and _Bait_, for more a more realistic,
down-and-dirty approach befitting this dark and gritty story. _Training_Day_
slavishly sticks to the 24-hour time period of its title, a day in which rookie
LAPD cop Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) is to be shown the ropes of the narcotics
investigation beat by 13-year vet Alonzo Harris (Washington). The training that
Jake receives goes beyond the expected by-the-book procedures, however. As the
long day wears on, it becomes an increasingly charged clash of personalities and
ideologies, with the naive Jake learning about the code of street justice in the
hardest possible way from the many difficult situations into which Alonzo places
him--not to mention from the morally ambiguous Alonzo himself.

The press and advertising for _Training_Day_ have made it clear that
Alonzo is perhaps just as bad, if not worse, than the types he busts every day,
but Washington makes the gradual unpeeling of his character's layers absolutely
riveting. Washington's natural magnetism as well as any other baggage he brings
with him from previous films actually works wonders for this role. Much like
how Alonzo's behavior constantly subverts any idealistic notions about law
enforcement officers, Washington's fearless performance continually challenges
any preconceptions of "nobility" one may have associated with the actor; the
viewer is never allowed any comfort as one is made increasingly uncertain of
just how far the character will go. Alonzo's test of Jake's mettle is
paralleled by the implicit acting challenge Washington's formidable work
presents to Hawke, and like his character, the well-cast Hawke proves up to the
demanding task, at times rather surprisingly so.

Disappointing it is, then, that David Ayer's script fails to keep up
with the pace of the actors; the story gets too reliant on contrivance and
coincidence to drive its final third. Effectively summing up _Training_Day_ is
one of the film's more awkward moments, a scene where Alonzo gives a charged
speech in the middle of the night, in the middle of a residential street. It's
hard not to see the scene as the bit of melodramatic grandstanding that it is,
but that point--and any other issues with the material, for that matter--is made
irrelevant by Washington's volcanic energy and fierce conviction.